


Promise Of A Love

by wayfindering



Series: Towards The Sun - The First Year [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Cute, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Multi, New Relationship, RikuRoku - Freeform, Romance, Sparring, Sweet, also xion and namine show up, hand-holding, light humour, made-up setting because i felt like it, mostly just sappy as hell, post-kh3, rikurokuweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 17:43:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20411755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayfindering/pseuds/wayfindering
Summary: Roxas is great at emotions, now. It's how they fit into social constructs he's struggling with. The concept of dating, for example. And all the steps that come between "crush" and "boyfriend." He's tired of not knowing how to be a person but he's going to take Riku on the perfect date, and everything is going to be okay.





	Promise Of A Love

**Author's Note:**

> rikuroku week 2019 || day 3 prompt - first date/sparring

Roxas tapped his checklist with the pen distractedly, then shoved it behind his ear in irritation and tossed the list onto the blanket next to him.

"I can't think of anything that fits all the criteria!" he grumbled, hugging his knees and scowling into his sleep shorts.

"Remind me what those were, again?" Xion said, their voice considerably more collected than his. They'd started out the evening sitting opposite him but now they were on their back with legs propped up against the wall, red flannel pants stark against the raincloud tapestry. Their head dangled backwards over the edge of Roxas's bed.

Roxas shoved the list at Xion with his foot until it bumped into their hand. They picked it up and scanned it, still upside-down. Roxas had it memorised.

🔘 an activity for two

🔘 both people enjoy

🔘 takes a lot of time

🔘 promotes physical contact

🔘 not something usually done with friends

🔘 optional: includes food

He'd crossed off every idea they'd come up with so far.

❇️ walking on the beach:

❌ friends

❌ group activity

❇️ sunset on clock tower: 

❌ friends

❌ group activity

❌ too quick

❇️ going out for dinner

❌ friends

❌ group activity

❌ too quick

❌ no physical contact

❇️ amusement park

❌ friends

❌ group activity

❇️ watching a movie

❌ friends

❌ group activity

❌ too quick

❌ he doesn't enjoy this

"Hmm," Xion hummed in their thinking voice. "I mean, you can technically do all these things with just two people. You and I do them all the time."

Roxas groaned. "That's the problem! It's not special if it's something you and I always do!"

"Thanks!" Xion said dryly.

"You know what I mean!" Roxas poked Xion's ankle which was against the wall close to his head. They giggled and twitched their leg out of reach.

"Did Lea say anything else at all?"

"No, he was too busy rushing out the door," Roxas said. "I kind of sprung the question on him while he was getting ready."

"What was he going to do with Isa?"

"He wouldn't tell me."

"What  _ exactly _ did he say?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. Xion never trusted him to summarise efficiently.

"I walked in on him doing his hair this afternoon and he said he was getting ready for his date with Isa. I finally asked what a date was, and he asked why I wanted to know because he's a jerk. I said that you thought I was falling for Riku romantically--"

"You never stop talking about his  _ sparkling eyes _ and his  _ voice, _ Roxas," Xion laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. I agreed with you, remember? And he does have sparkling fucking eyes, tell me he doesn't! Anyway, Lea said he kinda figured that, too, and then…"

_ "You have to ask him if he wants to go out with you first. If he says yes, then you're in. I wouldn't worry much about that part. He'll say yes. You wanna take him somewhere romantic for the first date." _

_ "Yeah, but what  _ is _ a date?" _

_ "A date is any activity for two that you both enjoy, something you wouldn't just do with a friend, you know? Get some quality time in, do something that lets you touch him. If you want you could get food or something. Pass me the comb." _

_ "Here. Well, what are you doing with Isa?" _

_ "Isa and I, we're a bit beyond first dates. Don't think that really applies, Roxy, sorry." _

_ "Oh, okay." _

_ "I've gotta run, but good luck, Rox! First dates are exciting. Tell me all about it tomorrow night. Got it memorised?" _

"...and then he took off and I went to find you."

"Mmm, and it can't wait until he gets back?" Xion hazarded, thinking-patterns on the coverlet coming into being under their hand.

Xion and their damn ice magic; if his bed was still cold later...

"No, Riku won't have another full day off that overlaps mine for over a week! I'll explode before then!" he said. And he would, too. Now that he knew these feelings were there, he had to get them out.

He was pretty sure Riku reciprocated them--longer glances, softer touches; it seemed likely enough--but the only way to iron them out was apparently to do a date.

"Can't we ask anyone el--"

"No!" Roxas grabbed his knees tighter and faceplanted into them. "It's so stupid that I don't know what a date is. I can do battle but not dates? I know what romantic feelings are, but not how to handle them socially? I hate asking people things everyone already knows! It's embarrassing to ask anyone else."

He listed off the only people he didn't mind asking these kinds of questions, "It's bad enough asking Lea, you don't know dating either, I can't ask Riku this time--" Roxas bit his lip to keep himself from adding,  _ And Sora still isn't back. _ They didn't need that reminder. Everyone knew.

Roxas sighed. "I want to be a real person already, Xion."

He felt the bed shift as Xion moved to their knees and a second later their arms folded around him and he barely noticed one of their hands still carried a chill. Roxas let his head fall sideways so it tucked in between their shoulder and neck.

"Me too," they said simply.

Roxas leaned into the comfort and breathed in. Xion always smelled like home.  _ Home.  _ He knew what that meant from his time in Sora's heart, and then he'd found it himself in his closest friends. Home, family--he had those; it would be okay.

The pangs of desperation that used to creep up on him as he clung to Xion were few and far between now. They weren't going anywhere, and even if they did he knew his heart would be able to follow theirs. And Lea's. So all the little things would fall into place, now, too, and all the hurts would start to heal. He believed that.

He wasn't sure how much of that was his own thoughts and how much was Xion's influence; their heart always had a distinctly calming presence that resonated close against his own. And they were way more of an optimist, too. Either way, Roxas felt better.

Something occurred to him, then. An idea. He sat up and twisted around, grabbing Xion's hands in his and grinning. Their eyes lit up in reply.

"What is it?"

"I know what we can do for a date! We can  _ fight. _ "

  
  


\----

  
  


"Hey, Riku!" Roxas chirped, poking his head inside Riku's room.

Even though he was quartered in the Masters' wing, Riku had taken to the trend of the dorms: he'd tacked up a curtain over the entryway, offering nominal privacy, to signal friends allowed, and only used the door to mean no entry at all. Community looked good on Riku; he wasn't meant to be as much of a loner as he pretended. Roxas pushed aside the curtain and stepped in.

"Hey, Roxas," Riku responded, looking up from his desk.

"Roxas!" The soft, melodic voice came out of thin air right in front of him and a second later his arms were full of Naminé.

"Whoa!" Roxas blinked, startled, and then laughed, returning the hug. "Where'd you come from?"

"I was practising my illusion magic," Naminé said. Her heart was spinning and gleeful as she beamed up at Roxas, her face flushed and full of vivaciousness in a way he was still getting used to.

It had been three weeks since Riku went to bring her home, newly restored, from Radiant Garden and it still made something warm and bright flare to life in his chest every time he saw her  _ here, alive, smiling. _

Her leap at him had left her hair in disarray, he noticed, as he pulled back and took her in, oversized black t-shirt and all. He grinned at that and tucked a lock of platinum behind her ears, pausing as the words sunk in.

"Wait, you have illusion magic? What's illusion magic?"

Roxas looked back and forth between her and Riku, who was watching the exchange with a smile. He smiled almost twice as much with Naminé around now, and Roxas could kiss her for that.

"It's new," Naminé breathed, pressing her hands together in excitement. "We're still researching it, but it seems objects contain a kind of morphic resonance field balanced in nature between light and darkness that holds a memory which can be tapped into within a short chronological distance from the--"

She broke off and bit her lip to unsuccessfully keep down a smile as Roxas's mouth dropped open. He couldn't help it.

"Sorry." She wasn't really, if her shared glance with Riku was anything to go by. What nerds. "Suffice it to say, I can cast illusions to make things disappear. Nothing else, yet."

"That's awesome! I can't wait to see it, Naminé!"

"Thanks!" she said. "I really should head to bed, though."

Riku stood up from his chair as she padded over to him, her footsteps delicate and precise but her arms thrown around his neck belying her enthusiasm.

Roxas tried to keep his stupid heart from melting but his friends could always make him soft and watching Riku--who only touched basically three people voluntarily--stoop over to hug Naminé got to him.

He thought he understood, now. It was one of the things Roxas shared with Sora, even after all this time: heart. Enough heart to fill the whole damn sky. How the two of them ever fit inside Sora... But maybe that was proof Sora still had the bigger heart; he certainly had the more reckless one, after all--Roxas's friends were his world, but the whole world wasn't his friend.

Naminé hugged Roxas a second time and called "Goodnight!" as she ducked past the curtain and headed for the dorms.

Roxas turned back toward Riku once she was out of sight. A little nervous energy fizzled up out of nowhere and he tried to tamp it down. This was normal. This was a normal experience to have.

He and Riku were getting close in a way that was... _ additional _ to friendship, at least as far as Roxas could tell. The fluttery feelings in his chest, the desire to drape himself across Riku eighty percent of the time and kiss him at least ten out of the other twenty.

But where was the line between fondness and romance? If Riku agreed to do the date, they could figure it out. If not, he'd strangle his other two best friends and go from there.

Riku turned his desk lamp off and looked over at Roxas, tilting his head inquiringly at his bed. "You staying awhile?"

As much as Roxas would love to curl up cross legged on Riku's familiar bed and play games or talk until way too late, he was just here for one thing. And then he actually needed sleep.

"Nah, I just dropped by for a sec," Roxas said, folding his arms in front of him as Riku put his books away. Riku stretched. Roxas noticed. He tried not to blush. He'd seen Riku stretch a thousand times; why was his brain so dumb all of a sudden? "I was wondering, do you wanna go out with me tomorrow? It's our day off."

"Huh? Yeah, sounds good," Riku answered, walking over to the door.

Roxas practically deflated in relief. Lea had been right--this  _ was _ easy. He grinned up at Riku who, as usual, couldn't help but smile back. Roxas couldn't bring himself to be as exuberant as Naminé, given the bowl of jello he was swiftly becoming, but he reached out and touched Riku's forearm briefly before turning to go.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then!" he said.

"Yeah," Riku said as Roxas backed out the door. "Tomorrow. 'Night."

_ A date!  _ Roxas floated back to the dorms and floated into bed and floated off to sleep without noticing a single step.

Tomorrow he'd show Riku a great date, and they could figure out a relationship from there. That part, he was sure he would be much better at.

  
  


\----

  
  


The train route from Twilight Town to Carmine City was gorgeous, scenery shifting from forest to coastline to mountains. Roxas had only taken it once before and he didn't think Riku had ever ridden the train past the beach at all, so he got them seats with the right view.

Riku seemed completely casual--kicking back and enjoying the morning journey--which put Roxas at ease. From everything he'd heard first dates were supposed to be awkward. He'd been dreading that. He didn't want awkward and nervous--he just wanted Riku. He wanted the two of them, the way they'd come together all comfort and understanding, sometimes laced with sparks.

The train journey was only a few hours but they'd gotten up early; after about an hour of being slowly hypnotised by the rumbling of the train, Roxas lost the battle and fell asleep slumped against Riku. He didn't wake up until the arrival bell sounded.

Still, as he dragged Riku off the train and through the city to the Dusk District he was back at full force, all traces of sleepiness gone.

This date needed to go well. Seemed easy enough; spending time with Riku was no hardship. And Roxas was apparently  _ amazing _ at dates.

"Is this a  _ Struggle _ arena?"

"Sure is!"

It was several Struggle arenas, actually, Roxas noted, as they reached the square at the far edge of town. They were laid out in a ring the size of a city block, with enough space for a watching crowd around each one. The center of the ring contained the main stage, for actual tournaments. A few outbuildings and storehouses were scattered on the edge of the square, and beyond those, a line of trees marked the start of the city park.

Roxas had never actually battled in one of these before--the last time he'd been here was to watch the last annual tournament with Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Excitement sent jolts of crackling energy through his every movement and he could feel an answering buzz in the air.

"Come on!" Roxas said, giddy as the anticipation mounted.

His hand was tucked into the crook of Riku's arm comfortably as he towed them across the street. The contact warmed Roxas through in the chilly morning air and Riku's heart was thrumming soft curiosity to back it up.

Here in the city--the actual Struggle capitol--they had so much more than the annual tournaments. You could take part in various seasonal challenges or even just sign up to duel. That's what they were going to do today.

Both he and Riku loved to fight but rarely did it in their free time with each other, or anyone else. In fact, Riku rarely sparred at all, even in training. Aside from actual battle, Roxas wasn't sure how many people had seen Riku's full strength. He had, once. And everything was different now. He couldn't wait to feel how much had changed.

Additionally, it ticked everything else on his checklist: an activity for two, it could take up most of a day, and it was nothing  _ but _ physical contact. Not to mention, everyone was hungry after a battle.

It didn't take them long to get signed in and outfit themselves. A Struggle duel was not only a challenge that pit you against each other, but also a timer and other obstacles. Roxas thought that sounded perfect.

Riku looked a little dazed as they stepped onto the platform. A few people watched them with vague interest.

"You want to  _ fight _ me? On our day off?"

Roxas just laughed, adrenaline flowing to every corner of his body and tuning his brain to brilliant clarity. "What, aren't you up for the challenge? How long has it been since we fought?"

An idea occurred to him. "Scared already?" he taunted.

Riku smirked, then, and Roxas felt his heart stutter only to be folded into the adrenaline rush a moment later.

"Bring it on," Riku called, his body flowing into his battle stance, looking no less deadly holding a Struggle bat than he did with a keyblade.

Roxas struck first. It was predictable for him, but he used the predictability to his advantage, foregoing the usual testing blows. He guessed what parry Riku had planned and kept enough balance in reserve to duck around him, twirling the bat in one hand and aiming at Riku's back.

Riku was already there blocking the blow, pirouetting perfectly and driving Roxas back in a somersault. He lamented his limitations with Struggle bats; if he'd been dual-wielding, Riku wouldn't have gotten away with that move. Not to be denied his initial advantage, however, Roxas dove back in.

Riku spun and whirled back and forth across the arena like he was made for dancing on the wind. Roxas dodged around him, less elegant but confident that when it came to weapon work he was an unparalleled artist. If Riku was built for grace and stamina, Roxas was built for speed and strength.

The two of them moved as if in sync and it felt familiar, like the choreography was etched in his bones; Roxas only knew the steps seconds before they happened but his body never let him down.

It could have been moments but it was probably hours. A series of duels down. They were almost evenly matched. The last ticks of the timer sounded loud over the heavy breathing, the blood rushing through Roxas's ears. He realised too late people probably let their dates win sparring matches. But Riku had left a glaring opening, bat cocked an inch too far to the left, and Roxas struck--the last orb spilling to the floor. He'd won.

The buzzer sounded. The crowd erupted into cheers.

_ Wait, crowd? _

Roxas looked up with sweat-blurred vision to see they'd drawn the attention of half the square. He guessed that was inevitable; they weren't ordinary fighters.

"The battle goes to Roxas of Twilight Town!" the mediator's voice boomed. More cheers.

Laughing and nodding politely to the assembled mass, Roxas raised his fist then tossed his bat aside. He knew he'd ache later but he was lighter than air as he stepped forward and held his hand out to Riku. The other was still kneeling, his sweat-dampened hair falling over his face.

He seemed the picture of defeat in that moment but when Riku looked up his face was brighter than Roxas had ever seen. Smiling, Riku took his hand and stood up.

Roxas firmly believed that you never knew a rival better than in the midst of battle--and this battle had showed him lithe determination and an iron grip on balance that outmatched anyone he'd fought before.

Compared to the last time he'd gone up against Riku? No contest. That Riku had been entirely off-kilter and had only won at a steep price. His desperation and raw emotion had lent him strength but it was out of control.

Today Roxas saw evidence of everything he knew Riku had become since then. None of the pain or lingering doubts entered the battle anymore.

He was a heart that had been broken too many times for someone their age but made stronger by the glue that put him back together again--friendship, honour, duty, love. Light and darkness held as one like an infinite starscape that could only be this beautiful in its duality.

Roxas wasn't sure if it was the endorphins and spent adrenaline or if his ability to sense hearts was overwhelming him, but he wanted nothing more than to throw himself at Riku and get lost in that depth.

He shook his head slightly to clear it and beamed up at his stupidly tall date who was on his feet now and waiting for Roxas to snap back to the land of the living.

He hadn't let go of Roxas's hand.

Roxas felt something fluttering in his chest as joy crinkled into amusement at the corners of Riku's eyes. Riku never seemed to mind when Roxas spaced out like that, when his brain was reeling too fast for his body to keep up with. He was glad.

"Good match," Riku said, less out of breath than Roxas in spite of his loss.

"Good match," Roxas replied, followed quickly by, "Come on, loser!"

He grabbed Riku's hand tighter and tugged him off the stage, weaving through the slowly dispersing crowd and heading back into the city.

"Where to?" Riku asked.

"Let's go cool down."

  
  


\----

  
  


Riku's first clue that he was on a date was the hand-holding. Perhaps he should have figured it out sooner but to be honest the sparring match had thrown him for a loop.

It wasn't that unusual to spend the day out without their friends, in his defense, and all of the former Nobodies were so touch-starved there was a 40% chance one of them would fall asleep on you at any given time. But the hand-holding was new.

And in hindsight, Roxas  _ had _ technically asked him out.

Riku bit back a small smile as Roxas pulled him along. He wondered who had told Roxas how to ask someone "out" to begin with. It was probably Lea; he never judged Roxas for not knowing something but he really wasn't a perceptive teacher.

Roxas's grip on his hand tightened as they turned a corner out of the Struggle square and Riku's attention was drawn to the contact.

He was physically drained from the sparring, his muscles soaked through with exhaustion, but his head was clear in the wake of the meditative trance a good fight could put him into. That and the shock of realisation.

Dating Roxas. Riku was surprised to find himself taking the idea in stride. He hadn't thought about dating in a long time. Not seriously.

It was Sora. It had always been Sora. The center of his world, even as his horizons expanded and that world became dynamic and complete unto itself. Even after everything he'd done, it was still Sora. The moments of darkness and moments of peace, the times he'd thought himself unworthy and the times he'd fought to make things right, Sora was there at the heart of it.

He hadn't seriously thought in terms of crushes and dating since he was a kid, let alone that Sora would ever...ever feel something like that for him. They'd been through everything and more but Sora's heart was big enough to fit the entire universe. Riku considered himself lucky to simply be one star in that vast sky.

Riku's world had changed, and he belonged to more than one duty--he was a guardian of Light itself, the guardian of balance, a keeper of world order, keyblade master, trainer, and friend--but he'd taken it for granted that there in his heart, it would still just be Sora. A constant thread even now, to wherever he was, as Riku waited and believed in him to succeed and come back home.

Sora was the center of every decision. The most important thing at the end of every day. Riku cradled every memory of Sora close to his heart, even the bad ones.

But now there was Roxas, too.

Roxas was a storm. He was anticipation and the smell of rain on the wind. He was lightning and fire in every touch, every glance. He was thunderous devotion without abandon once he let you in. He was gleeful like the stormwind that rattled your shutters and called you to come play in the rain. He was icy sleet and gentle showers in turns, changeable but dependable all the same.

He was the storm and everything after. When they clashed it was sparks and crackling energy that shot straight to Riku's core and made him feel alive. And when they laughed and joked in moments of calm it left him washed clean of worry, leaving a sensation of  _ bright, soothing, calm _ that lasted for days.

Roxas understood pieces of Riku that he hadn't even realised were there. Riku wanted nothing more than to help Roxas claim his personhood and realise his dreams. And he sometimes felt like he'd do almost anything just to see Roxas smile.

_ Shit.  _ He really had it bad.

How had Roxas managed to break into his heart, knock down walls, and rearrange the furniture so completely without him noticing?

And now Roxas wanted to  _ date _ him. Roxas _was_ dating him.

The cobblestones under Riku's feet had changed colour and shape--he could feel the difference even through his boots. Roxas twisted and turned them down a few roads and they were now headed toward a series of shops. Riku would just bet there was ice cream in his immediate future.

He almost smiled at that but his head was still trying to process information his heart had neglected to pass on. He guessed falling for Roxas had been so natural he forgot to pay attention to it. At least he had consistency there.

He turned his attention inward, as if he could see his own heart just by trying. Down through the layers of home, family, friends. Down to the core. He  _ felt _ Sora, still. But...Roxas was there, too.

Riku supposed...perhaps there was enough room in his heart for that, after all.

Roxas made a beeline for one shop in particular. Sure enough, the neon flash of the words "Ice Cream" blinked in the window. Riku let a smile onto his face this time.

Electric warmth still tingled up his arm from their joined hands and curled into a soft place in his chest, turning his thoughts lighter. Happiness. Contentment. They swirled together in him and urged him to respond. So he laced their fingers together.

Roxas looked up in surprise, hesitating for a beat in the middle of the road. Grinning, he turned away again and pulled Riku into the shop.

The grin left actual butterflies in Riku's stomach. He chuckled at the feeling, at himself, at the situation, like he couldn’t keep it in.

Dating someone. Dating  _ Roxas.  _ That would be...that would be  _ neat. _

  
  


\----

  
  


They didn't stop holding hands as they got ice cream. It was terribly sappy but Roxas couldn’t bring himself to let go and Riku didn’t seem to mind. He balanced it out by calling Riku a loser as often as possible, in light of Roxas's Struggle win.

This date was going so well. Who knew Roxas was secretly a master at this? He should plan all his friends’ dates.

The day had taken a turn for the hotter and the ice cream was very welcome. Roxas could have wandered the streets of Carmine City for the rest of the afternoon just eating ice cream and other food and holding Riku’s hand but he was still wiped from the duel and hated to admit that he didn’t think his feet had it in them.

Anyway, he had a better idea of how to stay cool and he wanted to show Riku the view. It seemed like something he’d enjoy.

Carmine City was nestled in the mountains, a maze of spires and domes jutting up from the slope. The city was built on an incline, but most of the streets managed to be flat, interconnected with a series of ramps and stairs.

And at the edge nearest the Struggle arena, just past the Dusk District, was the city park. There the cobblestones gave way to grass, curated to grow right up to the edge of a little plateau. The cliff edge faced out and afforded an unparalleled, unblocked view off the side of the mountain all the way past the beach and out to the horizon. It was famous, but only locally.

Even the trees stopped a little ways before the edge, and benches and tables gave way to open lawn sloping down ever so slightly until it stopped abruptly at the jagged edge. It looked almost like a beach, and the entire sky was their ocean.

A magical barrier kept people from tumbling to their deaths and Roxas knew this for a fact; last time he was here, Hayner--realising Roxas had never been before--had given him an entire heart attack by jumping at the edge as a practical joke.

He’d bounced back like there was a brick wall and it was a good thing too, because if there hadn’t been a barrier Roxas probably would have thrown him off again for scaring him like that.

They approached the treeline to the skyfront beach, already catching glimpses of people scattered along the grassy clearing, sitting on blankets or laying back on the grass.

Roxas could hear the wind whispering against the cliff face in a way reminiscent of waves. He kept glancing back at Riku, wanting to catch every moment of his reaction to the view. He did not disappoint.

Riku’s eyes lit up first, always the most expressive before the rest of his face got the go-ahead. The aquamarine depths glimmered greener in the eternal crimson-pink light, pupils blown in wonder.

Roxas’s stomach lurched and his breath caught, both pulling him forward and holding him back. Then Riku smiled and his heart melted right out of the bottom of his ribcage. Oh, he was done for.

Riku licked his lips and shot a second grin at Roxas before letting go of his hand and sprinting excitedly toward the cliff’s edge.

Roxas’s previously melted heart tried to fly out of his chest, then, following the invisible tug of Riku’s fingertips as they left his own. Letting out a laugh at all the feelings tangling and bubbling up inside him, Roxas ignored his protesting muscles and followed, only somewhat slower.

“I could feel the barrier before we got here, but I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Riku said, holding his hand up but not reaching to touch.

“Figures,” Roxas muttered good-naturedly. “You with your fancy magic abilities.”

Riku barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure you’ll get there with more practise.” He finally closed the gap and pressed his hand against the magic. “It feels like Yen Sid,” he said, surprised.

“Really? Do you think he’s the one who set it up?”

“Must be. Who knows how long he’s been on this world.”

As much as he loved staring at Riku, Roxas felt his attention called to the landscape below them. It was almost equally beautiful and that was saying something. His memories barely did it justice.

It wasn't just the sprawling view, it was the way it only peeked through the tumbling sea of clouds before them, tops level with the beach, like some mysterious underwater realm.

“This is astounding,” Riku breathed, echoing Roxas’s thoughts. “Thank you.”

Roxas grinned. He still felt feather-light in some ways, standing here with Riku, but on the other hand every bone in his body ached. So he dropped down to the grass, curling his legs under himself, and let out a relieved breath.

Riku joined him a moment later, leaning back on his right hand with one leg stretched out. He seemed less exhausted than Roxas, like the extremely fit jerk he was.

If Roxas was any better at healing magic he’d be tempted to slip himself a small spell, here in the open, just to be on par with Riku’s energy. Oh well.

“The barrier is a work of art,” Riku said. “It lets in enough wind to feel like a natural cool breeze coming off the sea onto the warm grass, but it keeps out the harsher winds that blow up the side of the mountains--the ones that sound like waves. Somehow it doesn’t warp the light at all, and if I couldn’t sense magic quite this well, I wouldn’t even know it was there until I touched it.”

“Maybe I’ll pester Yen Sid about it next time I see him,” Roxas chimed in. “I don’t know much about magic but I’d like to hear if he has any history with this place. And it’s fun to surprise him.”

Riku chuckled. Roxas could get used to seeing him this happy, feeling his heart thrum this contentedly next to his own. Riku hadn’t felt this at peace since Sora left.

Sora...Roxas hadn’t given Sora much thought in all of this. Not least because he tried not to think of Sora very often in general. It was too complicated. So many parts of Sora he didn’t know at all, but others he knew as intimately as he knew his own self.

And they hadn’t said two words to each other before Sora took off after Kairi. But he still missed Sora like he’d miss a limb. Most of them did--Xion especially, but Naminé and Ven, too. Even Lea. It was weird, but it made sense at the same time he guessed.

Roxas laid back on the grass and spread his arms out to the side, feeling the grass prickle and soothe all the way up to his bare shoulder before the tank top started. He watched the faint wisps of pink clouds swirl around each other seemingly in time with the waves of wind below them.

He was almost entirely sure, from what he did know, that Riku and Sora weren’t a couple. Nobody had said anything about it. And Riku was apparently okay with dating Roxas, so, that was alright.

He thought about the clock tower, before they were friends, and how Riku’s conflicted heart tangled itself up every time he got near, pain every beat.

There were other hurts, some of them still beating out of sight right now, but an unexpectedly large part of it was that Riku--a whole and complete idiot--hadn’t wanted Roxas to feel inferior, playing second fiddle to Sora as Riku’s friend.

A soft sigh of appreciation floated down. Riku followed his lead, then, laying back on the grass, and Roxas glanced over to his left to see Riku’s eyes closing as he listened to the sound of waves without water.

Roxas didn’t think he’d mind playing second fiddle to Sora, after all, when the bastard finally got back, if it meant Riku would stay this happy. But he didn’t think he’d have to; Riku had cared even before they’d known each other. That knowledge always settled itself in a special nook in his chest, even when he was annoyed.

But had Roxas ever reassured Riku he wasn’t doing the same exact thing? Trying to replace Sora in Riku’s heart?

He would never. He didn’t even mind if Riku was sitting here thinking about Sora while on their date--Roxas was doing the same damn thing, for one. But Riku was a dumbass sometimes and you could never tell. Maybe Roxas should...overthinking was bad. Just  _ act. _

“Hey, Riku,” he said, breaking their sort-of silence and turning his head to the side.

“Yeah?” Riku turned over onto his right side to face Roxas, rolling slightly closer in the process and propping his head up on his hand. Jade eyes lazily focused on him, and Roxas hated to kill the mood. But he’d worry the whole time and then still forget later if he didn’t say something now.

“I just thought you should know, I’m not trying to replace him.” There. He’d said it plain and simple. The best way to do things.

Riku blinked once, and nodded. “I know. You never could.”

Roxas let out a soft breath in relief and turned back to the sky. Good. That was easy.

“But he could never replace you either, Roxas.” Riku's voice was gentle and Roxas’s heart stuttered as he whipped his focus back around.

“I…” Roxas managed, all the air knocked out of him.

“The strength to protect what matters,” Riku said softly. A phrase Roxas had heard him use before. “It’s what I’ve been working toward in one way or another my whole life. And I’ve come a long way to learn that more things matter than I used to think. You’re one.”

Roxas felt his cheeks flush and he turned back to the sky deliberately. He kicked out with his leg and connected with what was probably a boot, reaching for familiar territory. “Yeah, well, you’re a sap.”

Riku barked out a startled laugh at that for some reason and settled down on his back again, a little closer to Roxas than before. “Yeah, I suppose I am.”

They lay there awhile longer, letting the sounds of the wind-waves wash over them and soothe away another fraction of the pain they carried.

And when they held hands again, it was Riku who reached out first.


End file.
